Tufts Daily

Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Annie Wermiel/Tufts Daily The men's crew team is coming off of a productive winter training season with its sights set on a New England Championships title in May. The Jumbos will put their hard work to the test against rivals Boston College, Tulane and the Harvard freshman squad in their first race.

At the end of most college crew competitions, it is not uncommon to see the victors awarded the jerseys of their competitors. It is the type of tradition befitting a sport that dates back centuries.

But heading into its fall campaign, the men's crew team wasn't sure just how many jerseys it would be collecting this year.

"We only had 12 or 13 returning varsity rowers," senior co-captain Matt Diffey said. "Going in, I had no idea what to expect of the team. [Junior co-captain] Nahv [Etedali], coach and I made a decision that this wouldn't be a rebuilding year, but that since we had a smaller team it would be different. We decided to focus on competing in the fours."

The decision to put extra emphasis on the four-man races, as opposed to the more marquee eight-man races, proved to be a fruitful choice. The four-man crew - comprised of Diffey, Etedali, junior Robbie Bayless and sophomore Brendan Coggan - placed first out of a field of 12 at the Lake Quinsigamond Snake Regatta in Worcester, the team's first fall victory in years. That result was followed by a very respectable 15th-place finish out of 31 boats at the world-renowned Head of the Charles Regatta in Cambridge. Those successes sparked the Jumbos to put in extra work this winter, ahead of the start of their spring opener on April 5.

"This was our most successful winter training session since I've been here," Diffey said. "Everyone saw tons of improvement in their conditioning and their scores on the rowing machines.

"Our results in the fall taught me that when we row well, we can hang with any boat in New England," he continued. "With that said, there's still room for improvement, as the Head of the Charles proved. Even though we were happy with how we did, there were still 14 boats ahead of us."

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools